PRESSURE REGULATING SYSTEMS FOR EXPANDABLE INSERTION DEVICES

• US 20100002897A1
• Filed: 07/06/2009
• Published: 01/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Staton Techiya, LLC
• Original Assignee: Personics Holdings, Inc.
• Inventors: Keady, John P.
• Granted Patent: US 8,631,801 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/328
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 11/10 inflatable or expandable
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/15 Determination of the acoustic seal of ear moulds or ear tips of hearing devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/554 using a wireless connection, e.g. between microphone and amplifier or using Tcoils
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/7838 Plural
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/7879 Resilient material valve

Abstract

At least one exemplary embodiment is directed to an earpiece comprising: an ambient sound microphone (ASM); an ear canal microphone (ECM); an ear canal receiver (ECR); and an inflatable sealing section, where the sealing section includes at least one pressure valve, where the at least one pressure valve opens when the pressure in the sealing section is greater than an ambient pressure.

Claims

1. An orifice insertion device pressure regulation system, comprising:

an expandable element configured to seal an orifice; and

at least one pressure valve, where the expandable element includes an interior region including an interior medium, where the interior medium has a first pressure, where the orifice insertion device is in at least a first medium and where at least a first portion of a the first medium has a second pressure, and where the at least one pressure valve is configured to open to at least a design flow rate when the difference between the first and second pressure is greater than a threshold level.

2. The device according to claim 1, where the at least one pressure valve is at least one of a duckbill valve, and umbrella valve, a ball and spring valve, a flapper valve, and a sheath valve.

3. The device according to claim 1, where the interior medium includes at least one of air, electrolysis gas, water, oil and glycerin.

4. The device according to claim 1, where the at least one pressure valve is configured so that flow into the interior region is larger than out of the interior region when the difference is greater than the threshold value.

5. The device according to claim 4, further comprising:

at least a second pressure valve, where the second pressure valve is configured so that flow out of the interior region is larger than that into the interior region when the difference is greater than a second threshold value.

6. The device according to claim 1, where the first medium is from a pump.

7. The device according to claim 6, where the at least one pressure valve is configured so that flow from the first medium into the interior region is larger than out of the interior region to the first medium when the difference in pressure between the first medium and the interior medium is greater than the threshold value.

8. The device according to claim 7, further comprising:

at least a second pressure valve, where the second pressure valve is configured so that flow out of the interior region is larger than that into the interior region when the difference in pressure between the interior medium and an ambient medium is greater than a second threshold value.

9. The device according to claim 1, where the threshold level is between about 10% and about 40% of the second pressure.

10. The device according to claim 1, where the threshold level is between about 10% and about 40% of the first pressure.

11. An earpiece comprising:

an ear canal receiver (ECR); and

an inflatable sealing section, where the sealing section includes at least one pressure valve, where the at least one pressure valve opens with a designed flow rate when the pressure in the sealing section is greater than a reference pressure by a threshold amount.

12. The earpiece according to claim 11, where the reference pressure is an ambient pressure.

13. The earpiece according to claim 11, where the reference pressure is a pumping pressure.

14. The earpiece according to claim 11, where the threshold amount is between about 10% and about 40% of the reference pressure.

15. The earpiece according to claim 11, further comprising:

an ambient sound microphone (ASM).

16. The earpiece according to claim 15, where the inflatable sealing section reduces the occurrence of acoustic feedback between the ASM and the ECR.

17. The earpiece according to claim 11 further comprising:

an ear canal microphone (ECM), where the ECM is coupled to an in-channel environment via an acoustic channel.

18. The earpiece according to claim 17, where the in-channel environment is the inside of an ear canal.

19. The earpiece according to claim 11, further comprising a release element, where when the release element is pushed the pressure in the sealing section decreases.

20. The earpiece according to claim 11, further comprising a release element, where when the release element is pulled the pressure in the sealing section decreases.